U.S. patent number 9,041,909 [Application Number 13/379,653] was granted by the patent office on 2015-05-26 for exposure apparatus and exposure method.
This patent grant is currently assigned to SHENZHEN CHINA STAR OPTOELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.. The grantee listed for this patent is Jehao Hsu, Minghung Shih, Jingfeng Xue. Invention is credited to Jehao Hsu, Minghung Shih, Jingfeng Xue.
United States Patent |
9,041,909 |
Shih , et al. |
May 26, 2015 |
Exposure apparatus and exposure method
Abstract
The present invention provides an exposure apparatus and an
exposure method. The method comprises: utilizing an exposure light
source to provide light rays to the photo-resist layer, wherein the
light rays pass through the mask and the transparent substrate to
reach the photo-resist layer; and utilizing a reflective plate to
reflect the light rays passing through the transparent substrate
and the photo-resist layer back to the photo-resist layer. The
present invention can reduce a line space of a pattern of the
photo-resist layer.
Inventors: |
Shih; Minghung (Shenzhen,
CN), Hsu; Jehao (Shenzhen, CN), Xue;
Jingfeng (Shenzhen, CN) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Shih; Minghung
Hsu; Jehao
Xue; Jingfeng |
Shenzhen
Shenzhen
Shenzhen |
N/A
N/A
N/A |
CN
CN
CN |
|
|
Assignee: |
SHENZHEN CHINA STAR OPTOELECTRONICS
TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD. (Guangdong, CN)
|
Family
ID: |
48523795 |
Appl.
No.: |
13/379,653 |
Filed: |
December 8, 2011 |
PCT
Filed: |
December 08, 2011 |
PCT No.: |
PCT/CN2011/083689 |
371(c)(1),(2),(4) Date: |
December 20, 2011 |
PCT
Pub. No.: |
WO2013/082782 |
PCT
Pub. Date: |
June 13, 2013 |
Prior Publication Data
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|
|
Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
|
US 20130141705 A1 |
Jun 6, 2013 |
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Foreign Application Priority Data
|
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|
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Dec 5, 2011 [CN] |
|
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2011 1 0398588 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
355/67; 355/78;
430/311; 355/77 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G03F
7/7035 (20130101); G03B 7/20 (20130101); G03F
7/70325 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
G03B
27/54 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;355/67,77,78,99
;430/5,311,313 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Kreutzer; Colin
Claims
The invention claimed is:
1. An exposure apparatus for exposing a photo-resist layer on a
transparent substrate, wherein a transparent electrode layer is
positioned between the photo-resist layer and the transparent
substrate, characterized in that: the exposure apparatus comprises:
a mask disposed at one side of the transparent substrate, wherein
the photo-resist layer is positioned at an opposite side of the
transparent substrate for patterning the transparent substrate; an
exposure light source configured to provide light rays to the
photo-resist layer, wherein the light rays provided by the exposure
light source pass the mask and the transparent substrate to reach
the photo-resist layer; a reflective plate disposed at the opposite
side of the transparent substrate and faces to the photo-resist
layer for reflecting the light rays passing through the transparent
substrate and the photo-resist layer back to the photo-resist
layer; and a projection reduction lens system disposed between the
mask and the transparent substrate for projecting the light rays
passing through the mask to a bottom surface of the photo-resist
layer, wherein the mask is positioned to the photo-resist layer on
the transparent substrate by using an aligner.
2. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in
that: a reflective surface of the reflective plate is a flat
surface.
3. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in
that: the reflective plate includes a plurality of convex
structures.
4. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in
that: the reflective plate includes a plurality of concave
structures.
5. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in
that: the reflective plate is parallel to the photo-resist layer on
the transparent substrate when exposing the photo-resist layer.
6. An exposure method for exposing a photo-resist layer on a
transparent substrate, wherein a transparent electrode layer is
positioned between the photo-resist layer and the transparent
substrate, characterized in that: the exposure method comprises the
following steps: providing a mask and a reflective plate, wherein
the mask is disposed at one side of the transparent substrate, and
the reflective plate is disposed at an opposite side of the
transparent substrate and faces to the photo-resist layer;
utilizing an exposure light source to provide light rays to the
photo-resist layer, wherein the light rays provided by the exposure
light source pass through the mask and the transparent substrate to
reach the photo-resist layer; and utilizing the reflective plate to
reflect the light rays passing through the transparent substrate
and the photo-resist layer back to the photo-resist layer; wherein
a projection reduction lens system is disposed between the mask and
the transparent substrate for projecting the light rays passing
through the mask to a bottom surface of the photo-resist layer, and
the mask is positioned to the photo-resist layer on the transparent
substrate by using an aligner.
7. The exposure method according to claim 6, characterized in that:
the reflective plate is parallel to the photo-resist layer on the
transparent substrate when exposing the photo-resist layer.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a field of an exposure technology,
and more particularly to an exposure apparatus and an exposure
method.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A photo-lithography technology has been widely applied in
manufacturing processes of electrical products. With the use of the
photo-lithography technology, a photo-resist is exposed to form
different patterns. However, when a line space of a pattern of the
photo-resist is too small, the photo-resist has a lower
transmittance, and thus a portion of the photo-resist is not
exposed and is still non-patterned. Therefore, after the
photo-lithography process, the formed pattern can not meet the
requirement of a predetermined pattern, and the performance of the
electrical products is limited.
Specifically, in many current electrical devices, such as liquid
crystal displays (LCDs), the line space of the pattern thereof is
required to be reduced continuously for promoting the performance
of the electrical devices.
As a result, it is necessary to provide an exposure apparatus and
an exposure method to solve the problems existing in the
conventional technologies, as described above.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides an exposure apparatus and an
exposure method for reducing a line space of a pattern of a
photo-resist layer.
A primary object of the present invention is to provide an exposure
apparatus for exposing a photo-resist layer on a transparent
substrate, and the exposure apparatus comprises: a mask disposed at
one side of the transparent substrate, wherein the photo-resist
layer is positioned at an opposite side of the transparent
substrate; an exposure light source configured to provide light
rays to the photo-resist layer, wherein the light rays provided by
the exposure light source pass the mask and the transparent
substrate to reach the photo-resist layer; and a reflective plate
disposed at the opposite side of the transparent substrate and
faces to the photo-resist layer for reflecting the light rays
passing through the transparent substrate and the photo-resist
layer back to the photo-resist layer.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an exposure
method for exposing a photo-resist layer on a transparent
substrate, and the exposure method comprises the following steps:
providing a mask and a reflective plate, wherein the mask is
disposed at one side of the transparent substrate, and the
reflective plate is disposed at an opposite side of the transparent
substrate and faces to the photo-resist layer; utilizing an
exposure light source to provide light rays to the photo-resist
layer, wherein the light rays provided by the exposure light source
pass through the mask and the transparent substrate to reach the
photo-resist layer; and utilizing the reflective plate to reflect
the light rays passing through the transparent substrate and the
photo-resist layer back to the photo-resist layer.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the mask includes at
least one transparent opening, and a width of the transparent
opening is less than 3 um.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the width of the
transparent opening is equal to or less than 2 um.
In one embodiment of the present invention, characterized in that:
a reflective surface of the reflective plate is a flat surface.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the reflective plate
includes a plurality of convex structures.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the reflective plate
includes a plurality of concave structures.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the reflective plate is
parallel to the photo-resist layer on the transparent substrate
when exposing the photo-resist layer.
With the use of the exposure apparatus and the exposure method of
the present invention, it can be ensured that an exposed portion of
the photo-resist layer can be patterned completely, so as to
prevent that the photo-resist layer can not be expose sufficiently
due to a small line space or a high depth-to-width ratio.
Therefore, by means of the exposure apparatus and the exposure
method of the present invention, the line space of the desired
pattern can be reduced for promoting the performance of electrical
devices.
The structure and the technical means adopted by the present
invention to achieve the above and other objects can be best
understood by referring to the following detailed description of
the preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an exposure apparatus
according to a first embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a patterned photo-resist
layer according to the first embodiment of the present
invention;
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an etched transparent
electrode layer according to the first embodiment of the present
invention;
FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an exposure apparatus
according to a second embodiment of the present invention; and
FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing an exposure apparatus
according to a third embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The following embodiments are referring to the accompanying
drawings for exemplifying specific implementable embodiments of the
present invention. Furthermore, directional terms described by the
present invention, such as upper, lower, front, back, left, right,
inner, outer, side and etc., are only directions by referring to
the accompanying drawings, and thus the used directional terms are
used to describe and understand the present invention, but the
present invention is not limited thereto.
In the drawings, structure-like elements are labeled with like
reference numerals.
Referring to FIG. 1, a schematic diagram showing an exposure
apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention
is illustrated. The exposure apparatus 100 of the present invention
is configured to exposing a photo-resist layer 102 on a transparent
substrate 101 for patterning the photo-resist layer 102. In this
case, the transparent substrate 101 may be a glass substrate or a
flexible plastic substrate. The material of the photo-resist layer
102 may be a positive resist material or a negative resist
material. It is worth mentioning that, before exposing the
photo-resist layer 102, there may be one or more layer structures
103 between the photo-resist layer 102 and the transparent
substrate 101, and the one or more layer structures 103 are
preferably transparent structures for allowing light rays to pass
from the one or more layer structures 103 from the photo-resist
layer 102 to the transparent substrate 101.
Referring to FIG. 1 again, the exposure apparatus 100 of the
present embodiment can comprise an exposure light source 110, a
mask 120 and a reflective plate 130. The exposure light source 110
is configured to provide light rays to the photo-resist layer 102
on the transparent substrate 101. The mask 120 is disposed at one
side of the transparent substrate 101 (such as the underside) and
between the exposure light source 110 and the transparent substrate
101 for allowing a portion of the light rays to pass, so as to
allow the a portion of the light rays to pass through the mask 120
and be emitted to the transparent substrate 101 and the
photo-resist layer 102 for patterning the photo-resist layer 102.
The reflective plate 130 is disposed at an opposite side of the
transparent substrate 101 (such as the upside) and faces to the
photo-resist layer 102 for reflecting the light rays passing
through the transparent substrate 101 and the photo-resist layer
102 back to the photo-resist layer 102, so as to increase an
exposed extent of the photo-resist layer 102, and thus a portion of
the photo-resist layer 102 designed to be patterned can be
completely exposed for ensuring the forming of a predetermined
pattern.
Referring to FIG. 1 again, the exposure light source 110 of the
present embodiment may be a metal halide lamp, a mercury lamp, a
fluorescent lamp, a UV lamp or a laser source for emitting exposure
light rays. The exposure light rays emitted form the exposure light
source 110 are preferably ultraviolet light rays or the light rays
(such as laser light) with a wavelength less than the ultraviolet
light. The exposure light source 110 can directly face to the
transparent substrate 101 for emitting the light rays to the
transparent substrate 101. In another embodiment, the exposure
light rays emitted form the exposure light source 110 may be
transmitted to the transparent substrate 101 through an optical
system (not shown) composed of a plurality of lens.
Referring to FIG. 1 again, the mask 120 of the present embodiment
is disposed at one side of the transparent substrate 101 and
positioned between the exposure light source 110 and the
transparent substrate 101. The mask 120 includes an opaque pattern
121 and at least one transparent opening (or slit) 122. The
material of the opaque pattern 121 may be chromium (Cr) for
sheltering a portion of the light rays emitted form the exposure
light source 110. The transparent opening 122 is formed between the
opaque pattern 121 and configured to allow another portion of the
light rays to pass for patterning the photo-resist layer 102. The
mask 120 may be directly close to the underside of the transparent
substrate 101. At this time, a width (such as 2 um) of the
transparent opening 122 may be substantially equal to or similar to
a width W (such as 2 um) of an exposed area on the surface of the
photo-resist layer 102. In another embodiment, the exposure
apparatus 100 may further comprise a projection reduction lens
system disposed between the mask 120 and the transparent substrate
101 for projecting the light rays passing through the mask 120 to a
bottom surface (contacting with the surface of the transparent
substrate 101) of the photo-resist layer 102. At this time, the
width (such as 10 um) of the transparent opening 122 may be greatly
larger than the width W (such as 2 um) of the exposed area on the
bottom surface of the photo-resist layer 102. Moreover, the mask
120 can be positioned to the photo-resist layer 102 on the
transparent substrate 101 by using an aligner (not shown).
Referring to FIG. 1 again, the reflective plate 130 of the present
embodiment is disposed at one side of the photo-resist layer 102
and faces to the photo-resist layer 102 for reflecting the light
rays passing through the transparent substrate 101 and the
photo-resist layer 102, so as to allow the light rays to be
reflected back to the photo-resist layer 102, thereby increasing
the exposed extent of the photo-resist layer 102, as well as
preventing that a top portion (a portion far away the transparent
substrate 101) of the photo-resist layer 102 is exposed
insufficiently. Therefore, it is ensured that the photo-resist
layer 102 is completely exposed, and the exposed pattern of the
photo-resist layer 102 can meet the precise requirement of the
predetermined pattern. When exposing the photo-resist layer 102,
the reflective plate 130 is preferably and substantially parallel
to the photo-resist layer 102 on the transparent substrate 101, so
as to directly reflect the light rays passing through the
transparent substrate 101 and the photo-resist layer 102 in the
total reflection manner for enhancing the precision of the exposed
pattern of the photo-resist layer 102. The reflective plate 130
includes a highly reflective material, such as Ag, Al, Au or white
paint (such as titanium oxide) for reflecting the light rays. The
reflective plate 130 may be made of the highly reflective material
(such as metal) as one-piece. Alternatively, the highly reflective
material can be coated on a plate (not shown) to form the
reflective plate 130. In this embodiment, a reflective surface of
the reflective plate 130 can be a flat surface. That is, the
reflective plate 130 can act as a plane mirror.
In one embodiment, when exposing the photo-resist layer 102, the
transparent substrate 101 can be carried on a transparent plate
(not shown), so as allow the light rays of the exposure light
source 110 to pass through the transparent plate and the
transparent substrate 101 to reach the photo-resist layer 102. At
this time, the mask 120 can be disposed between the exposure light
source 110 and the transparent plate, or between the transparent
plate and the transparent substrate 101.
Referring to FIG. 1 again, the exposure method can comprise the
following steps: providing the mask 120 and the reflective plate
130, wherein the mask 120 is disposed at one side of the
transparent substrate 101, and the reflective plate 130 is disposed
at the opposite side of the transparent substrate 101 and faces to
the photo-resist layer 102; utilizing the exposure light source 110
to provide the light rays to the photo-resist layer 102 for
exposing, wherein the light rays provided by the exposure light
source 110 pass through the mask 120 and the transparent substrate
101 to reach the photo-resist layer 102; and utilizing the
reflective plate 130 to reflect the light rays passing through the
transparent substrate 101 and the photo-resist layer 102 back to
the photo-resist layer 102.
For example, referring to FIG. 1 again, when applying the exposure
apparatus 100 to a process for manufacturing the LCD panel, the
transparent substrate 101 may be the glass substrate, and there is
a transparent electrode layer (such as ITO layer) 103 desired to be
patterned between the photo-resist layer 102 and the transparent
substrate 101. When using the exposure apparatus 100 of the present
embodiment to expose the photo-resist layer 102, the exposure light
source 110 can emit the light rays to the photo-resist layer 102
through the mask 120, the transparent substrate 101 and the
transparent electrode layer 103. Subsequently, the light rays
passing through the photo-resist layer 102 are reflected back by
the transparent electrode layer 103 for increasing the exposed
extent of the top portion of the photo-resist layer 102, so as to
ensuring the photo-resist layer 102 to be exposed sufficiently.
Thus, it can be avoided that the top portion of the photo-resist
layer 102 is not exposed completely due to a small line space or a
high depth-to-width ratio.
Referring to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram
showing a patterned photo-resist layer according to the first
embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a schematic
diagram showing an etched transparent electrode layer according to
the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2,
after exposing the photo-resist layer, a portion of the
photo-resist layer 102 is removed off by a developing step for
patterning the photo-resist layer 102. As shown in FIG. 3,
subsequently, a portion of the transparent electrode layer 103
which is not sheltered by the patterned photo-resist layer 102 is
removed off by an etching step. Subsequently, the patterned
photo-resist layer 102 is removed off, so as to achieve the
patterned transparent electrode layer 103.
With the use of the exposure apparatus 100 and the exposure method
of the present invention, it is ensured that the photo-resist layer
102 can be completely exposed, and thus the line space of the
predetermined pattern or the width of the transparent opening 122
of the mask 120 can be reduced. In this embodiment, the line space
of the predetermined pattern or the width of the transparent
opening 122 of the mask 120 can be less than 3 um, and preferably
less than or equal to 2 um.
Referring to FIG. 4, a schematic diagram showing an exposure
apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention
is illustrated. The exposure apparatus 200 of the second embodiment
can comprise an exposure light source 210, a mask 220 and a
reflective plate 230. The mask 220 is disposed between the exposure
light source 210 and the transparent substrate 101. The reflective
plate 230 is configured to reflect the light rays passing through
the transparent substrate 101 and the photo-resist layer 102 back
to the photo-resist layer 102. In comparison with the first
embodiment, the reflective plate 230 of the second embodiment
includes a plurality of convex structures which face to the
photo-resist layer 102. Therefore, the reflective convex surfaces
can act as convex mirrors.
Referring to FIG. 5, a schematic diagram showing an exposure
apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention
is illustrated. The exposure apparatus 300 of the third embodiment
can comprise an exposure light source 310, a mask 320 and a
reflective plate 330. The mask 320 is disposed between the exposure
light source 310 and the transparent substrate 101. The reflective
plate 330 is configured to reflect the light rays passing through
the transparent substrate 101 and the photo-resist layer 102 back
to the photo-resist layer 102. In comparison with the first
embodiment, the reflective plate 330 of the third embodiment
includes a plurality of concave structures which face to the
photo-resist layer 102. Therefore, the reflective concave surfaces
can act as concave mirrors.
As described above, with the use of the exposure apparatus and the
exposure method of the present invention, it is ensured that the
portion of the photo-resist layer desired to be patterned can
absorb enough exposure energy, and the pattern qualifying for the
predetermined requirement can be formed after the developing step.
Therefore, by means of the exposure apparatus and the exposure
method of the present invention, the line space of the desired
pattern can be reduced for promoting the performance of electrical
devices.
The present invention has been described with a preferred
embodiment thereof and it is understood that many changes and
modifications to the described embodiment can be carried out
without departing from the scope and the spirit of the invention
that is intended to be limited only by the appended claims.
* * * * *